make up — form or be part of a whole
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
To combine together to create something, or to be a part of something larger.
Say it like a native
Textbook Women constitute approximately half of the workforce.
Native Women make up about half the workforce.
'Make up' is the natural verb for forming a proportion of a whole; 'constitute approximately' is formal/statistical.
Pattern: make up something; be made up of something
In use
- Women make up more than half of the company's staff.study
- International students make up a significant part of the university population.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Students make up of 60% of the audience.
✓ Students make up 60% of the audience.
'Make up' takes the proportion directly — no 'of' after 'make up'.
Common collocations
make up + proportion— half of, the majority, a large part of, 10% of
Don't confuse it
This sense is about the parts of something, not inventing or relationships.
Related
- make up (invent (a story, excuse, etc.)) — Another meaning of 'make up' is 'invent (a story, excuse, etc.)'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.